FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, May 18, 2021

PIERRE, S.D. – The Office of the South Dakota Attorney General announced today that Amy Violet Schmidt, 40, Aberdeen, was sentenced to serve two years in the state penitentiary for Identity Theft.

Sixth Circuit Court Judge M. Bridget Mayer also ordered Schmidt to pay a total of $464.85 in restitution.

Schmidt pleaded guilty in Hughes County to Identity Theft, a class 6 felony, pursuant to a plea agreement reached with the State. The State asserted that Schmidt knowingly and intentionally misused financial information while she worked at a facility that provides care to elders.

“Though she worked at a facility where individuals seek care and assistance, Ms. Schmidt’s objective was to defraud the residents with the goal of enriching herself,” said Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Alongside our law enforcement partners, our agency continuously pursues fraudsters who victimize beneficiaries of Federal health and human service programs.”

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with assistance from the South Dakota Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Social Services, the US Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Brown County State's Attorney Office, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the Pierre Police Department, the Hughes County State's Attorney Office, and the Hughes County Sheriff's Office. 

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The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $426,181 for Federal Fiscal year FY 2021.  The remaining 25 percent, totaling $142,060 for FY 2021, is funded by South Dakota.

The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the State of South Dakota and provides legal advice to agencies, boards, and commissions of the State as well as representing the State in state and federal court.  The Office of Attorney General also handles prosecutions, felony criminal appeals, civil matters, consumer protection issues, and issues formal opinions interpreting statutes for agencies of the state.  Visit www.atg.sd.gov to learn more.

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CONTACT: Tim Bormann, Chief of Staff, (605) 773-3215